Stroud feels ‘embarrassed’ after loss

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FILE 0 Bob Costas broadcasts from the field for Thursday Night Football before an NFL football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons in Tampa, Fla., Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

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Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) looks on after an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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Columbus Blue Jackets’ Elvis Merzlikins, right, protects the net as teammate Jordan Harris, center, chases New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

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Stroud feels ‘embarrassed’ after loss

C.J. Stroud couldn’t believe it. Neither could his Texans teammates. They were frustrated after a 21-13 loss to the Jets on Thursday night when they couldn’t get much going against a team that was seeing its season spiral after losing five straight games. “It’s embarrassing to come out here in a prime-time game and get embarrassed like that is never fun,” Stroud said. “We have to be better in a lot of areas, and that starts with me.” Stroud completed just 11 of 30 passes for 191 yards for the Texans (6-3), who played without injured receivers Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins. Stroud was also sacked eight times. “If we want to win, this is not the recipe for it,” Stroud said. “We’ve got to learn how to dominate and stop learning to just go with the flow.” It was the first of three consecutive prime-time games for the Texans, with a Sunday night home matchup against the Lions on Nov. 10 next and a Monday night meeting at Dallas on Nov. 18. “We just have to honestly just play football better, execute better, stop pointing the finger and realize at the end of the day this is not winning football,” Stroud said.

Costas retires from baseball role

After 42 seasons, Bob Costas is retiring from baseball play-by-play. Costas had done games the past couple seasons for MLB Network and TBS Sports. His final games were the American League Division Series between the Yankees and Royals. Costas’ contract with TBS expired at the end of the season, but his plans to retire from baseball play-by-play had been in the works for over a year. The Athletic was the first to report on Costas’ baseball play-by-play retirement. Costas plans to address his decision at a future date. Baseball has always been Costas’ favorite sport. He called games on NBC from 1982-89 and again from 1994-2000. He was one of the announcers for the 1995 World Series and then the main play-by-play voice for the Fall Classic in 1997 and ‘99. He joined TBS in 2021 to serve as studio host for its coverage of the National League Championship Series and then called games the past three seasons. TBS has had a package of Tuesday night regular-season games to go with its postseason coverage since 2022. Costas had also done games on MLB Network since its start in 2009.

Barzal leaves road trip with injury

Islanders center Mat Barzal has returned to Long Island to be evaluated for an upper-body injury, the team said Friday, adding a timeframe for his absence would be announced after he sees doctors. It was not clear exactly when Barzal was injured. He finished the Islanders’ game at Columbus on Wednesday night, its third consecutive loss to drop to 3-5-2 this season. The Islanders are already playing without winger Anthony Duclair, who is expected to miss several weeks with a lower-body injury. Veteran Matt Martin signed a contract last week to replenish forward depth. Barzal, 27, is the Isles’ highest-paid player in the second season of an eight-year, $73.2 million contract. He has five points in his first 10 games. The Islanders are in Buffalo on Friday night to take on the Sabres before finishing their road trip at Madison Square Garden on Sunday against the New York Rangers. Bo Horvat, who is Barzal’s linemate in the Islanders’ top scoring unit, skated with captain Anders Lee and forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau in Friday morning’s practice. —Associated Press